Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1887-02-12
THE TERRIBLE MELINIrE.
An Explosive With Ten Times the Power
of Nitro-GlyceriDe.

An Explosive With Ten Times the Power
of Nitro-Glycerine.
Tie one subject of supreme interest
among military men just now, writes
Paris correspondent of the New York
Times, is the new explosive melenlte,
about which little except its wonderful
destructive power is known, and which
is therefore naturally fruitful theme
for discussion. The center OF French
artillery operations is at Bourges, where
the new explosive is being manufactured
for experimental purposes. Bourges has
taken the place of Metz and Strasburg.
It is here that experiments are going on
without ceasing, and corps OF distln-
guished officers are now seeking solu-
ton of the problem how to kill at. a
single stroke as many men as possible.
1t is a frightful problem, which science
should solve as speedily as possible, for
there is good reason to hope that the
solution will prove the ending OF all
wars-wars which had some OF the ele-
ments of chivalry century ago, but
have become hideous since chemistry has
taken hand in them.
The two men who discovered the prin-
ciples of me;inite are Capts. Locard and
Hirondart, who were attached to the gun
factory at Bourges. As a reward for
their invention M. Lecard has been pro-
NOTED to the rank of major and NJ. Hi
rondart has been decorated. Maj Locard
is regarded as savant of the first rank.
Scarcely sny of lis time is given to the
routine OF military service, but he de-
votes himself constantly to the technical
studies of the service. He is more OF q
chemist and inventor than soldier. His
latest discovery in connection with Capt.
Hirondart, is this destructive powder,
which has been christened melinite, be-
cause in color it resembles honey (miet.)
Following the first experiments with
the substance, which were made at La
Fere, works for testing the inventions nave
been pushed actively at Bourges. Three
small forts have been constructed to try
the effect of the new shells charged with
melinite. The forts, which have been
finished several days, look somewhat
like truncated pyramids. Two are of
concrete and pebbles. and the third,
which is the largest of the asphalt and
and complex. 1t il IL meters (about 80
feet) square at the base, s meters, nearly
10 feet high, and cost $4,000 francs,
about 81, 400. The other two cost, to-
gether, $4,000 francs, or about $4,000
1t is predicted that the melinite will de-
stroy these works, solidly built as they
are of extra hard materials, in less time
than it takes to write it. Daily expert
ments have been made on small scale,
and their result has been so satisfactory
that wagon loads of materials for man
ufacturing the new explosive are arriv-
ing at Bourges daily. Ether is one of
the principal ingredients of the powder,
and as the production of this is only
about 100000 Kilograms annually in
France, Minister Boulanger has his
agents out buying ether wherever they
can find it, and some has been purchased
in Germany for the manufacture of the
shells which are expected to be some day
used against the forces of that empire.
The destructive power of the new ex-
plosive is reported to be one hundred
times that of ordinary gunpowder, or ten
times that of nitro-glyceriue. An ordi-
nary shell, falling on the roof of build
ing, bursts and skaters everything in
its Immediate vicinity. The rnelinite
shell is intended to strike the ground at
the foundation of the buildings, and
once there it explodes and shoots every
thing into the air, reducing beams and
joists to an almost impalpable powder.
In the meantime, while the manufsc
ture of this terrible explosive is going on,
it's inventors are experimenting with a
new rifle powder, which explodes without
making any smoke and which will en-
able body of infantry to fire on the
enemy from cover without betraying
their position by clouds of smoke. The
chemists are developing into wholesale
of men, and when the time
comes, as it apparently will come, that a
general by blowing a whistle can ami
hilate 100000 of the enemy, covering a
line of several leagues, the theory OF uni
versal peace, founded on wholesale mas
sacre at distance, will be pretty nearly
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